Louis Tomlinson to Honor Late Mother With X Factor Performance

Louis Tomlinson is in mourning after his mother, Johannah Deakin, lost her battle with leukemia Wednesday at age 42. Louis' management team said Friday that the 24-year-old singer will go through with a scheduled performance this Saturday on the U.K.'s The X Factor.

"Johannah was first and foremost a truly amazing mother to seven children—Louis, Lottie, Félicité, and two sets of twins, Phoebe and Daisy and Ernest and Doris—whose individual talents and success are testament to the principles and beliefs she instilled in them," her husband Dan Deakin said Friday. "She was also an incredibly proud grandmother to Freddie."

As news of Johannah's death spread across social media Friday, X Factor judges past and present sent Louis messages of support. "My heart breaks for you. I am so sorry," Cheryl Coletweeted. "My thoughts are with you and your loved ones at this incredibly tragic time." SimonCowell also told his protégé, "Your mum Jay was an incredible person. Sending you all my love."

Louis' performance will be dedicated to his mother's memory.

So far, the One Direction singer has not publicly commented on Johannah's death.

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People cope with grief in many ways, and Louis isn't alone in his decision to honor his work commitments. In January, just hours before Grease: Live! premiered on FOX, Vanessa Hudgens revealed that her father, Greg Hudgens, had lost his battle with stage 4 cancer. "Thank you to everyone who kept him in your prayers," she tweeted. "Tonight, I do the show in his honor."

Vanessa's portrayal of Rizzo was one of the show's highlights, and Grease: Live! was dedicated to Greg's memory. Months later, she told People she had experienced "highs" and "lows" since his death. "It sucks, but death happens. It never makes it easier, but it happens to all of us," the 27-year-old said. "It's just something we have to get through until we all meet again in heaven."

If anyone can sympathize with Louis and Vanessa, it's surely Dez Bryant. On Nov. 12, the Dallas Cowboys' wide receiver, 28, learned his father, MacArthur Hatton, had died. The next day, he helped his teammates defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-30. "Of course, he's very sad," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told a Dallas radio station. "You only have one of those. But he was getting the kind of support you would think. He's loved in the locker room and by the coaches as well. There was a lot of sensitivity and love being expressed to him. I'll say this: If he wanted to be at some place in his life, I bet it would be right in the middle of that locker room to deal with that."

And Louis, who got his start on the X Factor stage, can certainly relate to that.